Summer.

Ahhh. It's good to be back. 

I got back from church camp just about a week ago. 

It was an absolutely fantastic week of worshipping God alongside some of my very favorite people. 

This is my dearest friend, Courtney, whom I've grown super close to over the last five months. And now she's going off to college and that makes me sad. BUT she has a heart for Ukraine and I have a heart for Uganda so a picture was a must. 

This was the last night out on the pier when we took a moment to stop and sing and play by the ocean and simply be in awe of all He had done in and among us that week. 

While I was sick a good majority of the week, I had to rely on God in those moments of weakness and that taught me more than I would have gotten otherwise. 

This time last year I was in Uganda and oh how I wish I was there, but how thankful I am for all that He is doing here. 

Last week was VBS. Our church hosted three different locations and it was by far the best VBS I've ever been a part of. 

Also last week my mother made me take a mandatory break from my computer and writing in general to give my brain a serious break. 

Yes, it was slightly torturous, but it was helpful. My brain felt calm...or at least I think that's what calm feels like :)

And while we're on the book front- 

I'm in the final stages of cover design and formatting and it's SO exciting. 

I got the invitations for my book publishing party in the mail the other day and spent a solid hour addressing and stamping and licking envelopes (which left my mouth feeling disgusting.) 

This is all coming together so well and I'm beyond thankful that God has allowed me to be part of such an amazing journey. 

Oh, this has nothing to do with anything BUT my favorite author, Jenny B. Jones, is writing a new book. I get her newsletter and when I opened my email and saw that she was coming out of a three year break from writing and publishing a new book this fall, I may have clapped and squealed. Fangirling at it's best, my friends. 

Anyway. 

That's my life as of right now. 

Continuing to work on completely trusting Him to write my story each and every day. Surrender is hard and I'm finding that to be true each day. 

But my God is good and He is powerful so I know that He has the best in store for my life. 

That alone is a glorious thought and I'm so excited to see what the rest of the summer holds. 

~Bailey

P.S. I do apologize that this was probably a useless post but I figured I needed to update and this was all that my brain was coming up with this morning! 

Still Running.

Tuesday, July 10th, 2014 at 10:12pm.

That was a momentous moment right there(I apologize for the lack of creativity in that phrase...my brain is FRIED).

God has been evident in these last couple weeks as I have worked harder than ever to get this book done.

I've been in front of the computer for hours on end, changing words and phrases and writing new paragraphs.

Tonight I finished going through the LAST FOUR CHAPTERS of my dearest book.

I've still got a read through and a cleaning up process (whatever that means...I'm just trusting Mrs. Editor) to do. But August is so realistic.

I'm floating right now.

I'm exstatic. Couldn't be more excited to see my little book in print.

Side note: it's not so little anymore. Pre-edit word count: 41,000. Post-edit word count: 56,175.

There's nothing more exciting than watching the word count climb at the bottom of the screen.

Anyway.

Thank you for your prayers and your encouraging words.

I'm still running strong and won't stop till I have a copy in my hands.

Now, excuse me while I go have eat a Strawberry Edy's Pop in celebration of this momentous night.

~Bailey